Two days before my 16th birthday, I pulled off something I’d been chasing for months—my first Eastbay dunk on a regulation rim. But that moment really began months earlier—during the summer of 2023 at The Dunk Camp in Utah.
Meeting Hunter at Dunk Camp
In June 2023, I was at The Dunk Camp in Utah—a top event for dunkers and jumpers anywhere in the world. That year was when I met Hunter Castona. Even though we live five hours apart—he’s in Wisconsin, I’m in Minnesota—we made a plan to dunk together whenever possible.
Our First Session: September
We planned a session in September of 2023. That day, we both got close to major milestones: I back-rimmed my first serious between-the-legs attempts, and Hunter nearly landed his first under-both-legs dunk. Despite it being a great day, we knew we had to run it back and check those off the list.
Preparing for October 21st, 2023
This was my last session before turning 16 (my birthday is October 23rd), and I wanted to hit an Eastbay as a 15-year-old very badly.
I trained hard and smart leading into it. I also planned a mini deload so I’d be peaking by the 21st.
At the time, I didn’t have the JumpMaster X coaching team in my corner, so I definitely could’ve prepared better (everything worked out, though).
The Minnesota Dunk Squad
We met at the National Sports Center (new ownership now, but still a staple gym for us). I had rented out the court, and four of us showed up: me, Hunter, Gideon Scheeler, and Jason Robinson.
Gideon and Jason are both members of the Minnesota Dunk Squad, which I founded. Jason, by the way, is 53 years old and still dunking—which speaks volumes about how far consistency can take you.
Warmups
From the first dunk, I felt amazing. My one-handers in warmups were some of my best ever. That momentum continued into many more dunks:
- Windmill
- Reverse Pump (my first time hitting that)
- Cuff Windmill
- 360 Windmill (my second time ever)
At the time, I had never moved through the ladder so quickly or cleanly.
The Energy Shifts: Hunter Hits Underboth
Right as I started sizing up Eastbay attempts, Hunter hit his first under-both-legs dunk. That dunk had haunted him for months, and seeing him land it brought the energy in the gym to a new level. That was the cue: time to go for mine.
Attempting the Eastbay
I began trying for the between-the-legs dunk (also called an Eastbay). Each rep got better, closer. On the fourth attempt, it finally clicked.
I landed my first ever Eastbay on a legit rim.
The reaction? Just pure chaos and joy. You wait months for something to happen in a single second, and then when it does, it’s simply the best feeling in the world.
Post-Eastbay Dunks
After the Eastbay, I continued to hit three more new dunks:
- Reverse Windmill Off-Lob
- Double-Up 1 Hander
- Double-Up Windmill
Everyone Did Well
It wasn’t just me or Hunter. Gideon had what might’ve been his best session up to that point.
Jason, too, had one of his strongest outings, hitting a variety of dunks that would be impressive for anyone—let alone someone in their 50s.
Hunter spent most of the back half of the session working on J-Rich eastbays and double-up variations. The adrenaline from this session was extremely contagious.
Looking Back
I’ve hit harder dunks since then—more technical, more advanced. But honestly, nothing has matched the feeling of that first Eastbay. It hit different because it marked a real turning point in my career as a dunker.
What made it even better was the response. The support from the dunk community—people I’d looked up to, dunked with, or only known online—was overwhelming. That moment didn’t just matter to me; it felt like a shared win.
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